We all know the economy is screwed right now.  There are millions out of work, and more losing their jobs on a daily basis. Today I’ve spent some time actually paying attention on Twitter to how many people are discussing the fact that they can’t find a job, have been laid off, or are having hours drastically cut at work.  There are so many people out there who can’t afford the basic necessities and others on the verge of finding themselves in the same situation.

We’re being told things are going to get better, but I just can’t comprehend that right now.  Things seem so bad I feel like it will be a long time before anything is better at all.  I just talked to a few friends to see if any of them are making any lifestyle changes due to the state of the economy, and I was surprised by the answers.

One friend told me he isn’t changing anything.  He’s actually spending more now than he was before the whole “crisis”.  He agrees job stability isn’t something anyone can count on these days, but he doesn’t think he should change his spending habits because of it.  I asked him what he’d do if he lost his job, and he simply said, “I’d sell everything on Ebay.”

That’s find and dandy in theory, but what if no one wants to buy what he has to sell?

A few other friends all said they’ve made changes in their spending habits.  One has started shopping in discount stores to save a little extra, using coupons, and searching for deals online like many of us already do.  Another said she’s started her own little garden so she doesn’t have to buy as much food.  I know many of them have done things like searching for cheap auto insurance, haggling with credit card companies to lower interest rates, and contacting cable and phone providers to ask for promotions.

There are tons of ways to save money all around us right now. One thing I’m doing is taking the time to ask stores to price match. I’ve done it before with the local bike dealership because they’ll price match any other dealership in the area to receive bike parts and tires cheaper, but I haven’t gone out of my way to ask other stores to do it until now.

Hubby’s aunt who lives in Alabama suggested we ask our local grocery store to price match weekly sales ads from other stores in the area. She’s been doing it for years, and it’s such a common practice in her area that the cashiers normally keep a stack of competing store ads at the register. Our local Ingles agreed to price match any weekly ads from the other local grocery chains including Buy 1 Get 1 Free promotions!  Add the coupons I use to that as well as other Advantage Card savings, and we’ve lowered our grocery bill by a good amount.

Walmart will also price match other store’s prices and some websites, but they will not price match their own website due to special promotions. Kmart will price match on some things but not others (at least at our store), and Lowes and Home Depot both price match. Found something you want to buy online? If it’s not something you need to purchase immediately consider emailing customer support to ask if they’ll be willing to price match another online store. I’ve done it many times in the past few weeks, and I haven’t been turned down yet. I’ve even had a couple online stores offer to price match sales promotions from local sales papers. I just had to scan and email them the sales paper!

Have you changed your spending habits or revamped your lifestyle to be lower cost? What are you doing to save money?

Thursday, March 5th, 2009, 4:51 pm   |   Shopping  |  RSS feed Comments and pings are currently closed.